Meditations in ExodusExodus 4:18-20 reads, “And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.”In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God expressed his call upon Moses to send Moses as His instrument of deliverance for His people Israel. After a bit of deliberating with the Lord God and His call, Moses submitted himself to that which the Lord God had called him. Thus in Exodus 4:18 we find that Moses returned from keeping the sheep unto his father-in-law Jethro and made request that he might go and return unto his brethren in Egypt. At Moses’ request, his father-in-law, Jethro, granted his permission. Thus Moses packed up his wife and his sons and moved to return unto Egypt. Now, throughout the context of Exodus 4:18-23, the Lord God delivers a three-fold instruction unto Moses that is bound up in the three words – go, do, and say.

GoThe key word throughout Exodus 4:18-20 is the word “go.” We encounter this word three times in these three verses. The first record of this word was when Moses “returned to Jethro his father in law” and made his request, saying, “Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive.” The second record of this word was in Jethro’s answer to Moses request, in which Jethro said, “Go in peace.” The third record of this word is found in the Lord’s own instruction unto Moses in Exodus 4:19 – “And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.” Herein the Lord God instructed Moses to go forth to fulfill the call that He had placed upon Moses.In a similar manner, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has placed a call upon our lives to be witnesses unto Him and to proclaim His glorious gospel unto the spiritually lost souls of this world. Even so, our Lord has also instructed us to go forth to fulfill this call that He has placed upon us. “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20) “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” (Luke 14:23)DoThe second instruction that the Lord God delivered unto Moses in this context is found in Exodus 4:21 – “And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.” Now, the key word in this instruction is the word “do.” Herein the Lord God instructed Moses to do all those wonders and works before Pharaoh, that He had put into Moses hand to do. Not only was Moses to go in returning unto Egypt as the Lord God had sent him, but also Moses was to do all the works before the Egyptians for which the Lord God had given him responsibility. In his going forth, Moses was also to do all. Indeed, Moses was to do all that the Lord God had put in his hand to do, even in the face of significant opposition. Yes, Moses was to go and to do. Yet the Lord God warned him in advance that Pharaoh would not heed the message of the Lord that Moses would deliver unto him, but would become hardened of heart against that message.In a similar manner, in placing His call upon our lives to be witnesses unto Him and to proclaim His glorious gospel unto the spiritually lost souls of this world, the Lord our God and Savior has also instructed us to do that which he has placed in our hands to do. Even so, in Matthew 5:13-16 the warning and instruction is delivered, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”Again in Philippians 2:14-16 the instruction is delivered, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.” Yet again in Colossians 4:6 the instruction is delivered, “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Finally, concerning even those times wherein we face significant opposition, in 1 Peter 3:14-16 the instruction is delivered, “But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.”SayThe third and final instruction that the Lord God delivered unto Moses in this context is found in Exodus 4:22-23 – “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: and I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.” In His call unto Moses to go and to do, the Lord God also gave Moses a specific message to deliver unto Pharaoh. First, Moses was to deliver unto Pharaoh the authority of the Lord’s message – “Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn.” Second, Moses was deliver unto Pharaoh the command of the Lord’s message – “Let my son go, that he may serve me.” Third, Moses was delivered unto Pharaoh the warning of the Lord’s message – “and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.”In a similar manner, the Lord our God and Savior has not only called us to go with a good testimony in our character, but also to go with the gospel message in our communication. Even so, in Mark 16:15 our Lord Jesus Christ gave us who are His disciples the instruction to go forth into this spiritually dark world and to “preach the gospel” unto the spiritually lost souls of this world. In Romans 10:13 the great promise of the saving gospel is given, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Yet then in Romans 10:14 we believers are asked a series of questions in relation to this great promise of the saving gospel – “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Indeed, how can the spiritually lost souls of this world hear the gospel and call upon the Savior without a preacher of that gospel concerning that Savior? Yea, how can they hear and call if we fail to preach the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ unto them? Finally, in Romans 10:15 the final question and the divine encouragement is given, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”Indeed, in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 God’s Word specifically indicates that the Lord our God and Savior has given unto us believers “the ministry of reconciliation” and has committed unto us believers “the word of reconciliation.” “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” Thus 2 Corinthians 5:20 proclaims, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” We believers, as “ambassadors for Christ,” are the very mouth-piece of God our Savior unto the spiritually lost souls of this world. We have been given the responsibility to speak unto them and to plead with them in the very place of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Let us then go, do, and say!